Dental substances are often provided in packages holding a sufficient amount of substance for multiple applications. A dentist typically uses portions of such substances for application in a patient's mouth. A dentist may for example place a portion of a dental substance on a pad or into a well and use a dental instrument for applying it within a patient's mouth. Dental impression materials may for example be filled into a dental impression tray which is then placed in a patient's mouth to obtain a dental impression from the patient's teeth. However in many situations dental substances may also be placed into a patient's mouth directly from a package in which the substance is contained. Today there are a variety of packages that allow for direct application of substances into a patient's mouth.
Dental substances further are often prepared from two or more components that are mixed together just before use. Often the individual components are obtained as portions from larger packages, for example from tubes, bags or cartridges. There are packages on the market that allow manual or automatic dispensing of two or more components at desired amounts and at an appropriate ratio for mixing. Furthermore there are packages that allow dispensation of portions of readily mixed substances from individually stored components.
An automatic dispensing and mixing system is for example available under the designation 3M™ ESPE™ Pentamix™ from 3M ESPE AG, Germany, and allows automatic dispensing and mixing of two-component dental impression materials. The 3M™ ESPE™ Pentamix™ system is typically used as a tabletop device for filling dental impression trays. However, the 3M™ ESPE™ Pentamix™ system further has an interface which allows a hand-held syringe to be filled with a portion of a readily mixed dental substance. A re-usable syringe for use with the 3M™ ESPE™ Pentamix™ system is for example available under the designation Elastomer Syringe from 3M ESPE AG, Germany.
A manual dispensing device is available under the designation 3M™ ESPE™ Garant™ Dispenser from 3M ESPE AG, Germany, and it allows manual dispensing of two-component substances through a static mixer so that a readily mixed substance can be obtained. The 3M™ ESPE™ Garant™ Dispenser allows direct application of the mixed substance into a patient's mouth because it is provided in the form of a hand-held applicator which carries the dental impression material, and it includes a mixing tip. The mixing tip is dimensioned so that it can be placed even in relatively narrow spaces in a patient's mouth.
WO 2007/104037 discloses another dispensing device for storing and dispensing dental substances. The device comprises a cartridge for the dental substance, and a nozzle. The nozzle is pivotable with respect to the cartridge between a first position in which the capsule is closed for storage and a second position in which the capsule is opened for dispensing the dental substance.
Although there are a variety of solutions for application of dental substances into a patient's mouth there is still a desire for an application device that allows easy handling, and which is relatively inexpensive.